Video: Philosophy of Liberty

I know that this flash animation is a bit long. Nevertheless, please watch, and tell me what you think.

New Computer Up And Running

Yesterday, after eleven grueling hours from 7:00 AM until 6:00 PM, I finally have my new computer functional for my work and bookkeeping needs. I lost track of how many calls I had to make to Warren. He is one patient man!

Hillary Clinton And The Muslim Brotherhood

The Muslim Brotherhood is claiming the following:

US Secretary of State welcomes MB if elected by people through democratic elections

A recent dialogue between US secretary of State and former US first lady Hilary Clinton has revealed that the US may have had a change of heart following its former stance of defending the regime prior to Egypt’s People’s Revolution.

Now, if we read what Clinton actually said, we find that the Muslim Brotherhood is spinning her words.

Nothing new about spin, of course.

Birthday Break

A rather momentous birthday for me this year as today is the last birthday I'll celebrate in this decade of my life.

Where have all the years gone?

I do have feel some sadness today. This will be the first birthday I celebrate without my dearest aunt wishing me "Happy Birthday." My parents are long gone: my mother in 1987 and my father in 1998. For me, the hardest part about growing older is losing the ones whom I love.

Today's Recommended Reading

Guess who is suing Coca Cola? [hat tip to Woman Honor Thyself] FYI...

Computer Down — Again!

Okay, my desktop machine is old — a 2004 Dell. I can expect glitches.

The timing of the breakdown could hardly have been worse, however. Last Sunday, I was about to update all the necessary medical expenses for the 2010 tax return when the machine began playing the fool and eventually (1) took forever to boot up, (2) would no longer let me back up data, and (3) refused to shut off properly or manually, thus requiring me to shut off the power source.

Today's Recommended Reading

HERE at Z's site: "Hitler, Hypocrisy and Hyperbole...compliments of the LEFT." Worth your time.

Quote Of The Day

Warren in a comment to this post about the union protests in the Midwest:

There isn't any such thing as collective bargaining with public service unions. It's more like the children presenting a wish list to Santa (the Government) and Santa promising the the parents will pay up (we're the parents).

The more I think about it, the more I realize [that] the phrase "Public Service Union" must be the grandest example of oxymoron ever created — if not an outright example of Orwellian "Newspeak."

Another Quote of the Day below the fold.

Recommended Reading

For this President's Day, see "Presidential Facts: George Washington" over at Karen's blog, Eastern Right. Worth your time.

Look Who's Coming To The White House On March 3 (Video Added)

With a hat tip to Mark Alexander, who emailed me the news link:

A hardline Muslim cleric who sparked anger across the U.S. with his anti-American comments in a television interview this month is to hold a protest outside the White House.

British extremist Anjem Choudary - who once said 'the flag of Islam will fly over the White House' - has announced he will lead a demonstration calling on Muslims to establish the Sharia law across America....

[...]

Mr Choudary told the newspaper [the Daily Mail]: 'The event is a rally, a call for the Sharia, a call for the Muslims to rise up and ­establish the Islamic state in America.'

Read the entire news article HERE.

Insurrection In America's Midwest? (Video added)

According to Politico on February 18, 2011:

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi came out strongly in support of Wisconsin teachers and students who are protesting Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to public employees of collective bargaining rights.

Pelosi told reporters Friday that the protests are “an extraordinary show of democracy in action.”

“Wisconsin's workers, teachers and public servants must have a seat at the table to fight for a safe workplace,” she said. “I stand in solidarity with the Wisconsin workers fighting for their rights, especially for all the students and young people leading the charge.”

Jesse Jackson also supports the protesters, as does Obama. The Democrats in the Wisconsin legislature have fled the scene in their version of a show of support for the protesters.

Ahem. The average annual compensation for a teacher in the Milwaukee Public School System is over $100,000 (videos from MacIver Institute):

Treasury Secretary Geithner Admits President's Budget Unsustainable

(Please scroll down to today's other post if you haven't already read it)

Hat tip to Weasel Zippers:


So, here we have one of Obama's appointees admitting that the administration is an epic fail.

Quite something, huh?

Facts are indeed uncomfortable things.

Obama's Czars To Be Defunded?

Such defunding would be a step in the right direction and do much to curb the federal bureaucracy.

The Invasion Of The Stink Bugs

Note: This post is about six-legged stink bugs (insects) as opposed to two-legged ones (politicians).
Does your part of the country has to deal with these critters? Here in the suburbs in D.C. area, we have them by the hordes, with the numbers still increasing.

Even during the winter season, not a day goes by that I don't find in the house every single day several stink bugs — the first daily one dubbed "the morning stink bug" and promptly dispatched. Until a few years ago, I'd never even seen one of these insects.

Usually, pets will hunt down and dispose of a few six-legged pests. But not in the case of these brown marmorated stink bugs!

Now we learn that the invasion of brown marmorated stink bugs will be ramping up this spring and summer. Oh, joy.

A short video from my local television station WUSA9:

The Damage Done

See the chart HERE.

A bit of text and a video below the fold.

This Week On The Gathering Storm

(This post is a weekly announcement. Please scroll down for other material)

Listen to The Gathering Storm Radio Show, hosted by WC and Always On Watch. The show broadcasts live every Friday beginning at noon, Pacific Time, for 30 minutes.

Egypt's Direction: Time Will Tell

Rather than add to all the verbiage about recent events in Egypt and the ousting of Mubarak, I submit the following graphics:

Valentine's Day 2011

(If you must have politics, please scroll down. I have two posts for today)

New love is beautiful, seasoned love even more so — as Mr. AOW and I have discovered after more than thirty-eight years of marriage, even as we endure the many limitations forced upon us by Mr. AOW's brain hemorrhage of September 15, 2009.

According to this source, our discovery about seasoned love is not merely wishful thinking on our part:

The Muslim Brotherhood And CPAC

Lifted from Infidel Bloggers Alliance and presented without comment from me as the information speaks for itself:

The New World Order At NASA

From Maggie's Notebook:

What is with this government? Every day there is another slur on American Culture, American Values. This time the agency is NASA. Instead of naming a new rocket after an American Hero or a victim of the 9/11 attacks, they have decided to name the rocket after an Egyptian...Woman killed in the riots.

Read the news link HERE. Excerpt:

The Character Of Obama

Talk about an egomaniac and a cheapskate!

Check out Obama's parting gifts to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs (excerpt from from Ace of Spades, photo from Weasel Zippers):

Pat Condell On Multiculturalism

Pat Condell responds to David Cameron's recent statement on the failure of multiculturalism:


Will American heed the warning coming from multiple sources, including the voices of Angela Merkel of Germany and Nicholas Sarkozy of France — in addition to the voice of David Cameron of the UK?

Obama's Masters

Story HERE.

Graphic below the fold.

Zero Tolerance, Infinite Idiocy

Recently, Spotsylvania High School, located in Virginia, expelled Andrew Mikel II, honor student and Junior ROTC cadet, for what amounts to using a peashooter on school grounds. The boy was also charged with three misdemeanor counts.

The photo at the left shows the "weapon": plastic pellets and a pen tube.

According to this article in the Washington Post:

This Week On The Gathering Storm

(This post is a weekly announcement. Please scroll down for other material)

Listen to The Gathering Storm Radio Show, hosted by WC and Always On Watch. The show broadcasts live every Friday beginning at noon, Pacific Time.

Redistribute The Wealth

Watch the video below the fold (hat tip to Weasel Zippers):

The EPA Classifies Milk As Oil?

Absolute madness!

You can't make up such surreal and ludicrous bureaucratic policies.

From this essay by Thomas Sowell:

Celebrate The Ronald Reagan Centennial

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ronald Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004).


Mike's America is holding a celebration of the date: "Happy 100th Birthday Ronald Reagan."


Also see this essay over at Reaganite Republican: "Ronald Reagan @ 100: Portrait in Courage."


For this Super Bowl XLV:



Also from Reaganite Republican, check out these top 25 Ronald Reagan quotes:

Weekend Humor

(Note: If you must have politics, please scroll down)

With a hat tip to Teresamerica, the following break from politics should make you smile:

Chihuahua Playing Pool - watch more funny videos

Another video below the fold.

Ayn Rand On Altruism

One of my American Government students is reading Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, which includes a series of essays by Ayn Rand, developer of the philosophy known as objectivism and perhaps most famous for the novel Atlas Shrugged. My student will shortly be reporting to the class about the book.

In preparation for my student's presentation, I watched the award-nominated documentary Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life, which included a portion of the video clip below (1979):


Start paying keen attention around time marker 3:37. Around time marker 4:15, Ayn Rand says, "Every dictatorship is based on altruism," i.e., selflessness and self-sacrifice. Later in the video, Ayn Rand and Phil Donahue discuss the oil companies and monopolies.

Find the rest of this five-part interview in the sidebar at YouTube.

This Week On The Gathering Storm: Nonie Darwish

(This post is a weekly announcement. Please scroll down for other material)

Listen to The Gathering Storm Radio Show, hosted by WC and Always On Watch. The show broadcasts live every Friday beginning at noon, Pacific Time.

The call-in number is 646-915-9870.

Callers welcome!




Our scheduled guest this week is Nonie Darwish.

Listen to the February 4, 2011 edition of The Gathering Storm Radio Show, live or later, by CLICKING HERE.

Internet Service Restored At Last!

Service was restored as of late this afternoon — after some four days of no access to the web as well as no phone service.

Another ice storm with freezing rain is moving toward the D.C. area.

At the moment, the weatherman is predicting that we won't receive a direct hit tonight and tomorrow as temperatures are supposed to be above freezing tomorrow morning.

Strong winds are predicted, however, so who knows if the lines will come down again? **sigh**